27122021 first india lucknow

Yogi’s Life Mantra To Youth: Think Big, Never Lose Hope
L u c k n o w : U t t a r
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath on the
birth anniversary of
former Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee on
Saturday launched the
campaign to distribute
free tablets and smart-
phones to one crore stu-
dents of the state.
Since 2014, December
25 has been celebrated
as ‘Good Governance
Day’ in memory of late
Vajpayee, who served as
the country’s PM thrice,
including a full term in
1999-2004. Tablets and
smartphones were dis-
tributed to 60,000 stu-
dents at the Ekana Sta-
dium here Saturday as
part of the drive.
Five students —
Akanksha Mishra, a fi-
nal year student of BSc
Nursing, Sagar
Upamanyu, a visually-
challenged student of
MA (Political Science),
Turn to P2
CM launches mega
tablet smart
phone distribution
drive in the state
Overjoyed students
thank CM Yogi
CM Yogi happily poses with 60K-odd students present at Lucknow’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium on
Saturday. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Lucknow DM Abhishek Prakash were also present
on the occasion.
SMART MOVE Christ statue vandalised in Haryana
as attacks against Christians spread
After 52 students catch corona,
Maharashtra school sealed
150 migrants held
for attacking police,
arson in Kerala
Ambala: A statue of Je-
sus Christ was vandal-
ised at a Church in
Haryana’s Ambala this
afternoon.
Police are analysing
CCTV footage but
haven’t yet been able to
identify the criminals.
Haryana’s Home
Minister Anil Vij said
that they hope to iden-
tify the criminals
thourg CCTV footage.
“We have assigned
three teams to catch the
criminals. We have
gathered CCTV footage
and two men appear to
have been involved in
this. We hope that we
will soon arrest those
involved based on the
video footage,” he said.
“Two men jumped
the boundary wall at
12:30 pm and vandalised
a Jesus Christ statue at
around 1:40 pm. They
haven’t been identified
yet, police teams have
been assigned to inves-
tigate it. A complaint is
being lodged and action
will be taken accord-
ingly,” SHO Naresh-
said.
Ahmednagar: First 19
children were found to
be infected with Cov-
id-19 at Maharashtra’s
Jawahar Navodaya
school, following which
450 students were tested
for the virus. Now, 33
more children have test-
ed positive.
A total of 52 people
tested positive for Covid
at the school.
The school has been
sealed and the area has
been declared a con-
tainment zone.
The number of cases
of the fast-spreading
Omicron variant of
Covid has risen to 422 in
India, with Maharash-
tra reporting the most
number of infections.
The state has also has
reported the most num-
ber of Covid cases.
Kochi: At least 150 mi-
grant workers were
taken into custody and
two cases were regis-
tered after they at-
tacked a police team,
which went to contain a
clash that erupted
among the workers dur-
ing Christmas celebra-
tions in Kochi, police
said on Sunday
.
The incident took
place at the labour
camp of Kitex gar-
ments located in the
Kizhakkambalam area
on Saturday night.
“Around 150 migrant
workers were taken
into custody and lodged
in various stations. The
assailants would be
identified from among
them. Two cases have
been registered,” Er-
nakulam rural Superin-
tendent of Police K
Karthik said.
A special police team
was constituted to
probe the incident in
which five policemen
were attacked, one po-
lice vehicle was set
ablaze and three other
vehicles were vandal-
ized, he added.
A statue of Jesus Christ vandalised at the Holy Redeemer Church
premises of Ambala Cantt, in Ambala on Sunday.
LUCKNOW l MONDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 46
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI
The snake bit Salman Khan’s hand on Sat-
urday night at his farmhouse near Panvel in
Raigad district. The actor was then taken to a
hospital at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai and was
discharged on Sunday morning.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh
Tomar on Sunday said that the government
has no intention to bring back the three farm
laws. Tomar’s statement came a day after the
Congress accused Centre of a conspiracy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit
Mandi in Himachal Pradesh on Monday to
inaugurate and lay the foundation stone
of hydropower projects worth over
Rs 11,000 crore.
SALMAN KHAN
BITTEN BY
SNAKE IN
FARMHOUSE
NO INTENTION TO
BRING BACK FARM
LAWS, SAYS AGRI
MINISTER TOMAR
PM MODI IN
MANDI TODAY
FOR LAUNCH OF
POWER PLANTS
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
CENTRE FORMS PANEL TO
LOOK INTO DEMAND FOR
AFSPA REPEAL IN NAGALAND
Aditi Nagar
New Delhi: Amid the
growing clamour for
the repeal of the
Armed Forces Special
Powers Act (AFSPA)
from Nagaland in the
aftermath of the civil-
ian killings, a state
government release
Sunday said that a
committee to look into
the demand will be in-
stituted by the cental
government.
This comes after
representatives of the
Nagaland government,
including Chief Minis-
ter Neiphiu Rio, held a
meeting with Union
Home Minister Amit
Shah in Delhi on
Thursday to discuss
the present scenario in
Nagaland in the after-
math of the incident in
Mon district’s Oting,
where 14 civilians
were killed in a secu-
rity ambush and clash-
es that followed.
The meeting, which
was chaired by Shah,
was also attended by
Nagaland Deputy
Chief Minister Y Pat-
ton former Chief Min-
ister TR Zeliang and
Assam Chief Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The committee will be chaired by the Additional Secretary,
Northeast, Ministry of Home Affairs. It would also include the
Chief Secretary and DGP of Nagaland as well as IG Assam Rifles
(North) and representatives from the Central Reserve Police Force
The panel, which has
been asked to
submit its report in
45 days, will decide
on whether AFSPA
can be repealed
from Nagaland and
the state’s
“disturbed area”
status be removed.
Casteist, family parties
of ‘Bua-Babua’ couldn’t
bring devpt in UP: Shah
First India Bureau
Kasganj: Launching a
veiled attack on the Op-
position, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah on
Sunday said that the
past governments of
“Bua-Babua” in Uttar
Pradesh could not bring
development in the state
since they are ‘casteist’
and ‘family’ parties.
Addressing Jan Vish-
was Yatra in Kasganj of
poll-bound Uttar
Pradesh, Shah said,
#039;Bua and babua
ran the governments in
Uttar Pradesh. Did they
bring any development?
These are casteist par-
ties and family parties.
There were 700 riots
during Akhilesh Ya-
dav’s five-year rule. Ear-
lier the common people
were migrating from
Uttar Pradesh. Earlier
the law and order situa-
tion was so bad that
people were afraid of
sending their daughters
to schools and colleges.
Hailing the present
law and order situation
in Uttar Pradesh during
theongoingChief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath’s
tenure,Shahsaidthatno
one dared to riot in the
lastfourandahalf years.
Earlier there was a
Bahubali in every dis-
trict,todaythereisades-
ignated product from
every district, stated
Shah. Remembering for-
mer Chief Minister
Kalyan Singh, Shah
said, “Kalyan Singh ji
spoke of good govern-
ance within UP for the
first time. He worked to-
wards giving rights to
the backward society
.
Kalyan Singh ji chose
RamJanmabhoomiover
the chief minister’s
chair and pave the way
for Ram Temple.” P2
Judges
appointing
judges myth,
others also
involved in
process: CJI
Vijayawada: Calling it
a “widely propagated
myth”, Chief Justice N
V Ramana Sunday de-
fended the judiciary
against charges that
judges were appointing
judges through the Col-
legium system.
Delivering the 5th
Late Shri Lavu Ven-
kateswarlu Endow-
ment Lecture at Sid-
dhartha Law College in
Vijayawada, Ramana
said, “It is nowadays
fashionable to reiterate
phrases like ‘judges are
themselves appointing
judges’. I consider this
to be one of the widely
propagated myths.”
Stating that filling
vacancies is one of the
challenges, the CJI ap-
preciated the Centre’s
efforts in appointing
several judges in recent
times.
AFTER OUTRAGE, MAKERS TO
CHANGE LYRICS OF LEONE SONG
‘MADHUBAN MEIN RADHIKA’
BRAHMOS TO BE MANUFACTURED IN
UTTAR PRADESH: DEF MINISTER
NIGHT CURFEW IN
DELHI FROM TODAY
Lucknow: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on
Sunday said that India is manufacturing a Brahmos
missile not to attack any country but to ensure that
no other country dares to raise an eye towards
India.While laying the foundation stone of BrahMos
Missiles production unit and DRDO lab at Lucknow,
the Defence Minister said, “We are manufacturing
missile not to attack any nation.” More on P2
New Delhi: Night curfew will be
imposed in Delhi from 10 pm
to 5 am starting Monday, the
government said on Sunday as
the national capital reported 290
fresh cases of Covid - a 16 per
cent jump from Saturday - and
one related death in 24 hours.
The case positivity rate has
climbed to 0.5 per cent, which is
stated to be of a critical level.

z Music label Saregama
on Sunday said the
company will “change”
the lyrics and the name
of the song “Madhuban
mein Radhika” after
Madhya Pradesh Home
Minister Narottam Mishra
alleged that the video of
the track has hurt senti-
ments of Hindus.

z Madhya Pradesh
Home Minister Narottam
Mishra had lashed out
at a recent music video
featuring Sunny Leone,
warning that action will
be taken against the ac-
tress and makers of the
song if they don’t pull it
down from social media
platforms. Efficy of
Leone was also burned
in Mathura.

z Asking Leone to
apologise, Mishra said
the state will take action
against her and com-
poser Saqib Toshi if the
video is not removed
from YouTube within
three days. He also said
an FIR will be registered
against Leone.

z Recently, Mathura-
based priests
also demand-
ed a ban on
the video,
accusing
the Bol-
lywood
actress
of hurt-
ing their
religious
senti-
ments.
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
INDIA
UP
6,987
new cases
162
new fatalities
59
new cases
00
new fatalities
Action will be taken in accordance with law to secure justice for all, said Army on Dec 4 incident.

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | MONDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2021
02
School
students
thank CM
Cont’d from page 1
Mehul Gupta, a
B.Tech student,
Prabal Awasthi
preparing for com-
petitive examina-
tions, and Zeba
Kausar, a final
year student of
BA - were invited
on stage to speak
where they ex-
pressed gratitude
to the CM for pro-
viding resources
to the needy stu-
dents.
Speaking on the
occasion, Adity-
anath said the
young should not
be hopeless in
their lives and
urged them to
think big.
“Thinking should
never be small. If
thinking is big, it
will give a new di-
mension to your
personality
.
Youths should
never allow hope-
lessness to enter
their lives. If they
work with this
passion, they will
be able to do any-
thing,” Aditynath
said.
“This is not only
a smartphone and
tablet. With this,
you will get free
digital access and
content.
First India Bureau
Lucknow/ Prayagraj:
Hitting out at previous
SP govt for handing
over the state to the ma-
fiosos, CM Yogi said
that their government
has finally put an end to
the atrocities caused by
these unscrupulous ele-
ments on the common
man and is building
homes for the poor and
the needy by destruct-
ing their ‘havelis’. In
wake of the seizure of
unaccounted money in
Kanpur and Kannauj,
the CM commented, ‘Ye
itra ki khushboo nahi,
badboo hai’.
On Sunday, the CM
laid foundation stone of
75 houses under the PM
Awas Yojana (Urban) on
a piece of land that was
freed from the illegal
possession of Mafioso-
turned-politician and
ex-MP Atiq Ahmed in
Prayagraj. The CM also
launched 31 develop-
ment projects worth Rs
158 crores.
Addressing a public
meeting at Lukerganj,
the CM maintained,
“Before 2017, the prop-
erty of poor and busi-
nessmen was illegally
grabbed by the mafia or
anyone else. Today the
foundation stone of the
housing scheme for the
poor has been laid by
performing ‘bhoomi pu-
jan’ on the land occu-
pied by the mafia.”
Reiterating that the
government is commit-
ted to the welfare of
people, the CM stated,
“The schemes which we
have inaugurated, laid
the foundation stone of,
these schemes could
have been launched ear-
lier but it did not hap-
pen as they had no such
intentions.”
He further said that
his government has
worked on the policy of
zero tolerance on crimi-
nals and mafia and only
in Prayagraj, land
worth thousands of
crores has been freed
from their possession.
Ye itra ki khushboo nahi, badboo hai: Yogi takes a jibe on SP
POLITICAL CRITICISM
The CM laid foundation stones of 75
houses under PM Awas Yojna (Urban)
on the land freed from Atiq Ahmed
CM Yogi addresses a gathering at the foundation stone laying
ceremony of PM Awas Yojna in Prayagraj on Sunday.
CM ON KNP RAID
SHAH LAUDS YOGI’S GOVERNANCE
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Union
Home minister Amit
Shah on Sunday said
criminals in Uttar
Pradesh are making an
exodus now, while ear-
lier it was common
man who was forced to
flee by them.
Shah praised UP
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath for his gov-
ernance saying people
were not afraid any-
more to send their chil-
dren to school.
“Earlier, the law and
order situation was so
bad, people used to
hesitate in sending
their children to
schools. But in five
years of Yogi Adity-
anath government, all
goons have made an
exodus from UP,” he
said while addressing a
Jan Vishwas Yatra’ in
Kasganj here.
Shah also accused
the BSP and the SP of
playing caste politics
and not working for de-
velopment when they
governed the state.
On the occasion, the
BJP leader also re-
membered former
state chief minister
Kalyan Singh saying
the victory of the party
in 2014, 2017, and 2019
would not have been
possible without his
advice.
Singh died in Luc-
know on August 21 at
the age of 89.
Kasganj district
comes under Etah par-
liamentary constitu-
ency and is currently
represented in the Lok
Sabha by Rajveer Sin-
gh, Kalyan Singh’s son.
He also said it was
Kalyan who resigned
from CM’s post within
hours of demolition of
Babri Masjid in 1992.
Shah asked those
who gathered whether
they would vote for the
same people who fired
at kar sevaks’.
The reference was
made to the Mulayam
Singh government’s
decision to open fire at
kar sevaks who had
gathered near the Ram-
janmabhoomi site in
Ayodhya in 1990.
Shah’s tour to Kas-
ganj is part of the cam-
paign which will cover
more than 140 constitu-
encies in UP party
sources said.
Keeping caste equa-
tions in mind, each
event will be attended
by people from three
OBC-dominated con-
stituencies, two urban
constituencies, one
scheduled caste-domi-
nated constituency and
one minority-dominat-
ed constituency
.
Home Minister Amit Shah greets a mammoth
crowd that gathered to hear him in Kasganj on
Sunday.
KASHI VISHWANATH GETS
SPECIAL MENTION
AMIT SHAH PAYS VERBAL
TRIBUTE TO KALYAN SINGH
Speaking about the recently inau-
gurated Kashi Vishwanath Corridor
in Varanasi, Home Minister Amit
Shah went on to say that during
the previous governments’ rule
(before 2017), the holy site used
to wear a deserted look and was
recently beautified under the watch
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“It was Kalyan Singh, who first
spoke about good governance
in Uttar Pradesh. Kalyan Singh
was the first to speak about the
backward class people in Ut-
tar Pradesh, and it was he who
gave rights to the people of the
backward castes,” Union Home
Minister Amit Shah said.
‘Double engine
govts working with
full commitment’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Firing yet
another salvo at the
previous govern-
ments for corruption
and neglecting devel-
opment, Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath
on Sunday said that
BJP’s double engine
governments are
working with full
commitment. While
those who are out of
power for 5 years,
even today crores of
currency notes are
coming out of their
walls.
“Over 50,000 fami-
lies have been given
houses in the most
transparent manner
in the last 5 years in
Kaushambi itself.
Why did the poor not
get houses earlier? It
was because earlier,
the ruling parties
never worked to up-
lift the needy, they
worked to strengthen
themselves,” said the
CM while inaugurat-
ing and laying the
foundation for nearly
100 development pro-
jects worth Rs 87
crore in the Kaush-
ambi district.
“This holy land
could have gained
recognition with the
presence of natural
resources, however,
the previous govern-
ments neglected it,
but today, this area is
progressing towards
development where
the benefits of gov-
ernment schemes
are reaching every
eligible needy,” the
CM said.
The Chief Minis-
ter expressed his
gratitude to the pub-
lic for showing faith
in the government
and also assured that
the government
would ensure the
safety, respect and
self-reliance of every
citizen.
Earlier govts
never worked
to uplift the
needy, They
worked to
strengthen
themselves.
‘No nation with ill intention should dare to attack us’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
on Sunday said that In-
dia is manufacturing a
Brahmos missile not to
attack any country but
to ensure that no other
country dares to raise
an eye towards India.
While laying the foun-
dation stone of
BrahMos Missiles pro-
duction unit and De-
fence Research and De-
velopment Organisa-
tion (DRDO) lab at Uttar
Pradesh’s Lucknow, the
Defence Minister said,
“We are manufacturing
missile not to attack
any nation. In history,
we have never en-
croached on any neigh-
bouring country land or
invaded any nation. We
want to Manufacture
Brahmos just to ensure
that no nations with ill
intentions dare to at-
tack India and we
proved our deterrence
power in Uri and Pul-
wama.”
Attacking Pakistan,
Singh said, “A neigh-
bouring country that
was recently separated
from India always kept
ill intentions regarding
India. Pulwama was
planned but under the
leadership of PM Modi,
India gave befitted re-
ply and killed terrorists
inside the territory of
the country that
planned the attack. We
gave a clear message
that India is powerful
and can kill its enemy
across the border.”
He stated that the De-
fence manufacturing
units will add a new
chapter to the economy
of UP and create job op-
portunities in the state.
“Investors are com-
ing as UP Chief Minis-
ter has ended Mafia raj
in the state”, he added.
YOGI UP IN ARMS! CM Yogi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
laid the foundation stone of DRDO lab and BrahMos missile
production unit in Lucknow on Sunday.
CM Yogi pays tribute to IAF pilot
martyred in Jaisalmer MiG crash
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Uttar
Yogi Adityanath on
Sunday paid tributes to
Wing Commander Har-
shit Sinha, who was
killed in the MiG-21
crash, while on duty in
Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer
last week.
Sinha was a resident
of Lucknow.
According to an offi-
cial statement, Adity-
anath said the Uttar
Pradesh government
will extend all possible
help to Sinha’s family
.
Wing Commander
Harshit Sinha’s plane
crashed during a train-
ing sortie in Jaisalm-
er’s Desert National
Park area on December
24.According to eyewit-
nesses, the plane burst
into flames before hit-
ting the ground.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath in his state-
ment has assured Sin-
ha’s family members
that the state govern-
ment is stands by them
in this hour of grief
and all possible help
will be extended to
them.
CM Yogi has emphasised on strict implementa-
tion of night curfew to counter the spread of
Covid-19 and has directed senior officials to go
into the field to make sure that these orders are
followed without fail.
CM Yogi Adityanath said that before
(2017) there was rule of Gunda-
rahj and Mafiaraj in Uttar Pradesh.
But now cities in Uttar Pradesh
such as Prayagraj are scaling
new heights.
But now cities in Uttar Pradesh
such as Prayagraj are scaling
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
Bizman whose premises
were raided linked to SP?
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Uttar
Yogi Adityanath on
Sunday claimed that
the businessman whose
premises was raided by
central agencies recent-
ly is linked to the SP, a
charge denied the Op-
position party earlier.
Unaccounted Rs 150
crore in cash was un-
earthed in a series of
raids by various taxa-
tion agencies on the
premises of Kanpur-
based perfume industri-
alist Piyush Jain,
sources had said on Fri-
day
.
The BJP had claimed
that he had links with
the Samajwadi Party,
which was denied by
the Opposition party
.
Addressing a public
meeting here, the CM
said around Rs 100
crore more recovered
from the trader today.
“For the past two-three
days, continuous raids
are being conducted on
the premises of a per-
son belonging to the SP.
BELONGS TO POOR
Will not leave any
stone unturned to
develop Atal’s
Bateshwar:Yogi
First India Bureau
Bateshwar: Uttar
Yogi Adityanath on Sat-
urday targeted the Sa-
majwadi Party, alleging
that its government
wasted the money
meant for the poor on
“kabristans”, hired in-
competent Urdu trans-
lator but did nothing for
students and teachers
of Sanskrit schools.
Adityanath also inau-
gurated and laid foun-
dation stones of pro-
jects worth Rs 230 crore
in Bateshwar on the
former PM’s birth an-
niversary
.
“Atalji inspired us all
and paved the way for
various schemes in fa-
vour of the,” he said.
He promised that a mu-
seum, cultural complex
and a park in the name
of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
will soon come up in
Bateshwar.
This lab will
take the state
in a new di-
rection.UP will become
a defense hub, and
BrahMos missile will be
made in Lucknow as
well as research will be
done. Many job oppor-
tunities will also be cre-
ated.
—Yogi Adityanath,
CM Uttar Pradesh

UTTAR PRADESH
03
CRUCIAL READ
FIVE NEW ETHANOL DITILLERIES TO COME UP
IN MUZAFFARNAGAR FOR RS 500-CR
Muzaffarnagar: Muzaffarnagar will soon have five
more ethanol distilleries worth `500-cr investment,
with district authorities issuing licenses to four such
units and sanctions pending for another. With this,
Muzaffarnagar will have eight ethanol distilleries.
The district already has three ethanol distilleries that
produced 6.73 crores litres of ethanol in 2020-21.
They have a capacity to produce 10.97 cr litres of
ethanol in a year, according to officials. District Ex-
cise Officer Uday Prakash Singh said his department
has issued licenses to four new ethanol distilleries.
The license for another such unit is awaiting sanc-
tion, he said.
TIKAIT SAYS NO TO
POLITICS, DENIES
SKM CONTESTING
Jaipur: Farm leader
Rakesh Tikait on Sun-
day said Samyukt Kisan
Morcha was not con-
testing any election and
he was not going to join
politics. The comment
was made in context of
farmers’ organisations
creating a political front
to contest Punjab polls
due in February. On UP
polls, he said he would
speak after the model
code came into force.
3 PEDESTRIANS
DEAD AS SPEEDING
CAR HITS THEM
Bilaspur: Three
pedestrians were killed
and one person was
critically injured when a
speeding car hit them in
Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur
city, police said on
Sunday. The accident
took place on Saturday
night when the victims,
who worked at a tractor
agency near a bus stand
in the city, were return-
ing home on foot after
duty, they said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Even as the
state of Uttar Pradesh
continues to conduct
the vaccination drive
most efficiently in the
country with over 19.40
crore vaccine doses ad-
ministered so far, Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath has issued direc-
tives to ensure com-
plete preparedness con-
cerning the vaccina-
tion for 15-18-year-olds,
frontline workers and
senior citizens.
While reviewing the
Covid-19 situation
across the state in a
high-level meeting
with the senior offi-
cials on Sunday, the
Chief Minister in-
structed, “As per the
guidelines by the Prime
Minister, Covid-19 vac-
cination for children
aged 15-18 and ‘precau-
tion doses’ for frontline
workers and senior
citizens, will begin
from January 3, 2022
and January 10, 2022,
respectively. Ensure
availability of vaccine
doses to carry out the
immunisation pro-
gramme in the most ef-
fective and hassle-free
manner to benefit the
eligible beneficiaries.”
Meanwhile, Uttar
Pradesh continues to
reach new milestones
in its Covid-19 vaccina-
tion rollout every day.
Uttar Pradesh has ad-
ministered the highest
number of doses
across the board
among States.
Standing on the top,
Uttar Pradesh has ad-
ministered 19,40,84,672
total doses, followed by
Maharashtra with 13
crore doses. In terms of
percentage, over 46.72
per cent of the popula-
tion is fully vaxed and
nearly 85 per cent has
got one jab.
In the light of the
emergence of the new
variant ‘omicron’, the
government has expe-
dited its vaccination
coverage in the state.
The CM has already
said that complete vac-
cination has proved to
be effective in fighting
against new variants
like ‘Omicron’, hence,
the pace of the ongoing
vaccination drive has
been ramped up.
All those who have
not taken the second
dose despite the stipu-
lated time on a priority
basis are being contact-
ed. At present, there is
not a single active case
of the Omicron in UP.
So far, all the three
Omicron patients
found here have recov-
ered.
First India Bureau
Hardoi: Police arrested
four persons, including
parents of the deceased
woman here in Kasim-
pur area after it was re-
vealed that the parents
killed their daughter for
her relationship which
were not accepted by
them.
SP Ajay Kumar said
that a 19-yr-old girl was
found dead in mustered
farm Kithwa Kheda vil-
lage under Kasimpur
police station area on
December 22. Case was
registered under mur-
der charges against uni-
dentified criminals on
complaint of the father
of the deceased.
The SP said three po-
lice teams were formed
along with surveillance
and SWAT teams to nab
the culprits. During in-
terrogation it was re-
vealed that Narendra
YadavandhiswifeKam-
la had murdered their
daughter due to her ob-
jectionable relation-
ships with her male
friends.
It was also revealed
that Vipin Yadav and
NareshYadav,friendsof
Kamla Yadav, mother of
deceased had commit-
ted crime. Police have
nabbed all accused and
during interrogation
they confessed to their
crime.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Teams of
forest department have
launched search opera-
tion to nab a leopar-
dreported roaming in
Gudamba and nearby
areas.
It was reported that it
was spotted near Puja
Nursing Home parking
area late on Saturday
night. Forest depart-
ment was informed
about it. Also street
dogs followed it but it
disappeared after a
while.
Ravi Kumar Singh,
district forest Officer,
said two teams were
searching the leopard
caught in CCTV cam-
eras and combing oper-
ation was underway
. He
said the leopard will be
caught soon and people
were alerted in the area.
Forest department
has issued an advisory
they they should keep
their pets inside the
house or secured area.
People should come out
in groups and avoid
roaming in secluded
areas.
Along with the advi-
sory numbers of forest
department officials in-
cluding regional forest
officer, district forest
officers were released.
It was suggested that if
anyone spotted the leop-
ard he should inform on
those numbers.
Meanwhile, three
persons including a po-
liceman were injured in
attack by leopard in the
area. It was reported
that a woman Vineeta
Rawat was attacked by
leopard. When her son
threw stones on the
leopard in attempt to
save his mother, it at-
tacked him also and a
policeman Gyanendra
was also injured while
saving both of them.
Kanpur: Preparations
are in full swing ahead
of Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi’s scheduled
visit to the city
.
The administrator of
the PM’s rally and local
BJP MLA Surendra
Maithanisaid,“
Arrange-
mentshavebeenmadeto
accommodate around
four lakh people on this
ground.”
“We will ensure that
everyone wears masks,
sanitizestheirhandsfre-
quently in view of the
COVID-19pandemic,”he
added.
Prime Minister, Nar-
endra Modi will be ad-
dressingtheconvocation
ceremonyof IIT,Kanpur
on December 28, 2021,
the Prime Minister’s of-
fice said.
PM Modi on Wednes-
daycalleduponstudents
of IIT-Kanpur,otherIITs
and the vast IIT alumni
network spread globally
to share ideas for the
PrimeMinister’sspeech.
In a tweet, the PM
said, “I look forward to
being at @IITKanpur on
the 28th of this month to
address the convocation
ceremony
. This is a vi-
brant institution, which
has made pioneering
contributions towards
science and innovation.
Iinviteeveryonetoshare
suggestions.”
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a tragic
incident a man slit the
throat of his wife in
Kura village under
Khaga Kotwali area
over illicit relation-
ship. His girlfriend re-
portedly assisted him
in this evil act.
Police sources here
said that Indramohan
Lodhi slit the throat of
his wife Yogmaya (25)
after family feud in
Kura village. Brother
of deceased woman,
Satya Prakash Lodhi
informed the police
about the crime. Police
rushed to spot and ini-
tiated investigations.
Police have arrested
accused and his woman
friend and recovered
murder weapon from
the spot. During inter-
rogation the accused
confessed to his crime
and further probe was
underway.
It was revealed that
accused was in illicit
relationship with an-
other woman. When
his wife objected, he
beat her up and slit her
throat.
Jabfor15-18-yr-oldsfromJan3
‘Precaution’ doses to frontline
health workers, senior citizens
CM issues directives to ensure
complete preparation for drive
Order comes after guidelines by
PM, says Yogi in high-level meet
A healthcare worker inoculates a beneficiary with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination drive, at Assi Ghat, in Varanasi.
59 NEW CASES
Janardan Misra
Lucknow: Ahead of as-
semblyelectionsinUttar
Pradesh, Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) has dis-
tributed laptops and
smartphones to young-
sters as the party prom-
ised in its manifesto. Op-
position parties have
raised questions on
BJP’ssmartphonedistri-
bution while the BJP
claimed that it would
help in strengthening
their future.
Speaking to First In-
dia, Ateeq Khan, Law
final year student said,
“It was nice to get
smartphone from gov-
ernment. I was so happy
but still after passing
my final year examina-
tion I would search for
job and it would be more
helpful if government
can provide employ-
ment for me.”
CM Yogi Adityanath
distributed smart
phones to students and
youngsters and claimed
that unemployment rate
before BJP government
was 17.5 per cent while
afterBJPcameintopow-
er unemployment re-
ducedtoabout4percent.
Riya Mishra, student
of graduation last year
said, “I have received a
laptop from government
and it was happy mo-
ment for me. I wanted to
peruse field of fashion
designing and with new
laptop I will chase my
dreams happily
.” She
thanked Yogi Aditya-
nath government and
hailed their efforts for
development of youth.
While Zubair Khan
another law final year
student said that Yogi
government was distrib-
uting laptops and smart-
phone but failed to pro-
vide employment to
youth. He alleged that
several youngsters were
struggling to get jobs
even after clearing ex-
aminations due to faulty
system.
ShikhaAwasthy
,grad-
uationstudenthailedthe
Yogi government’s ini-
tiative and said that it
wouldhelpherandother
youngsters in their
growth.Sheclaimedthat
smartphones and lap-
tops were basic needs if
anyone wanted to pur-
sue their career in de-
signing and arts.
As Yogi govt keeps free smartphone, laptop promise, youth look for more jobs
MIXED RESPONSE

Opposition
raises questions
on smartphone
distribution, while
the BJP claims it
would help in
strengthening
the future of
youngsters.
Riya Mishra
4 including parents
arrested for honour
killing in Hardoi
Narendra and
Kamla killed
their daughter
for objectionable
relationships
Village
head shot
dead over
old rivalry
First India Bureau
Balrampur: The
Pradhan of Roop
Nagar village un-
der Maharajganj
Police station was
shot dead over an
old rivalry while
his cousin was in-
jured in the attack.
Police said Rad-
hey Shyam Verma
alias Mithali Lal,
Pradhan of Roop
Nagar was shot
dead over old ri-
valry and his
cousin Manish
alias Kallu was se-
verely injured in
the attack.
Police have ini-
tiated a probe and
it was reported
that Shyam was at-
tacked by bike-
borne assailants
when he was re-
turning home
from his farms.
Injured Kallu
was rushed to the
district hospital
where his condi-
tion was stated to
be critical.
Forestdeptinsearchofelusive
leopard issues public advisory
Man murders wife
with girlfriend’s help
Kanpur gears up to greet PM Modi for Dec 29 mega rally
The man’s wife
had objected
to his illciit
relationship,
which led to the
incident
Forest department team takes guard after putting up a net in a
suspected area to catch the leopard.
Zubair Khan Shikha Awasthy

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 46
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
The life and work of Dr. Kurella
Vittalacharya shows it is never late to
fulfil one’s desires and that there is no
bigger happiness than furthering the
joys of learning. #MannKiBaat
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
Congratulations to all the winners
of YUVA: Prime Minister’s Scheme
for Mentoring Young Authors! I’m
sure they will go on to become
ambassadors of Indian literature,
culture and heritage.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
A person can rise through
the efforts of his own mind;
or draw himself down, in
the same manner. Because
each person is his own
friend or enemy.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
CJI RAMANA
SPEAKS SOME
HARSH TRUTHS
ABOUT POWERS OF
JUDICIAL REVIEW
hat the Central and
several state govern-
ments are becoming
authoritarian is no
secret. Nothing ex-
emplifies that better than the
CEC being told to be present at a
meeting chaired by the Principal
Secretary in the PMO. It amount-
ed to the subordination of a con-
stitutional body by the execu-
tive. Warning against this ten-
dency Chief Justice of India NV
Ramana said that having brute
majority in parliament does not
allow a government to take arbi-
trary actions. He also made it
clear that functioning democra-
cy in the country hinges upon
judicial review, which the judici-
ary has been entrusted with.
Judicial review is the power
given to courts to examine deci-
sions of the legislature, execu-
tive and the administration. In
recent times this power has
been criticised as judicial over-
reach or activism by the govern-
ment which prefers all constitu-
tional bodies to be subservient
to it. If the judiciary continues
to be under constant malicious
attacks threatening its inde-
pendence, democracy will be
reduced to a farce.
TOP TWEETS
T
igns are ominous.
Bajrang Dal and
other hard right
wing Hindu out-
fits, which are
close to running a parallel ad-
ministration in some places,
are out to make India unliva-
ble for Christians Muslims.
Christmas celebrations were
disrupted in several states by
Bajrang Dal. The vandalism
came about a week after some
speakers at the Dharm San-
sad held at Haridwar from
December 17-19, threatened to
ransack hotels commercial
establishments where Christ-
mas celebrations were being
held. Festival of joy turned
into one of fear gloom as
right-wing hoodlums went
about disrupting revelry in
Haryana’s Gurugram Ku-
rukshetra, at a school in Kar-
nataka’s Mandya district by
Hindu Jagarana Vedike and
Assam’s Cachar and Silchar
districts. The reasons given
for disruptions varied from
alleged conversion to absence
of pictures of Hindu gods and
goddesses on the walls and for
not celebrating Tulsi Diwas.
With police not registering
any case these forces only get
emboldened joie de vivre
of Christian Muslim fes-
tivities is gradually losing its
fervour. Using strong-arm
tactics is aimed at marginal-
ising these communities and
preventing participation by
others. These outfits thus
seem to be succeeding as law
enforcement agencies prefer
to remain mute spectators as
happened in Assam, Karna-
taka and Haryana.
With Bajrang Dal, Hindu
Jagarana Vedike sundry
othersuchoutfitsontheprowl,
India is trying to make its way
to becoming a Hindu rashtra,
where Hinduism’s peaceful co-
existence with other religions
may become difficult.
XMAS DISRUPTIONS
A GRIM POINTER
Reasons given for
disruptions varied from
alleged conversion to
absence of pictures of
Hindu gods
goddesses on walls
and for not celebrating
Tulsi Diwas. With police
not registering any case
these forces only get
emboldened
S
Jinnah: The man who created
Pakistan the way he wanted!
he date of the birth of Mo-
hammed Ali Jinnah remains
somethingof amystery
.Inthe
registerof hisschool,inKara-
chi, the date given is October
20, 1875. M.A. Jinnah always
maintained that he was born
on Christmas Day in 1876.
Why am I writing about
Jinnah? Yesterday I finished
reading, “Jinnah”: His Suc-
cesses, Failures and Role in
History. The volume is 808
pages long. The author is,
Ishtiaq Ahmed, who is cur-
rently professor emeritus of
political science at Stock-
holm University
.
Whenever I am asked,
“Whowasthemostsuccessful
pre-1947 Indian politician”,
my answer is “M.A. Jinnah.”
Jinnah was a brilliant law-
yer, before becoming an as-
tute and brilliant politician.
Almost all his life he lived
in Bombay
. By the age of 35 he
was a millionaire. He lived in
a palatial house in Malabar
Hill. He married late in life.
His wife came from an emi-
nent Parsi family. The mar-
riage was not a happy one.
Jinnah at one time was
called the “ambassador” of
Hindu-Muslim Unity”, by no
less a person than Sarojini
Naidu. He was member of
the newly founded Muslim
League and also of Congress.
When Gandhiji finally re-
turned to India from South
Africa in January 1915, Jin-
nah warmly welcomed him.
By 1920 Gandhiji had be-
come the Congress supremo.
Jinnah did not participate in
the non-cooperation move-
ment. He was for achieving
India’sindependencethrough
constitutional means.
He finally left the Congress
in 1928. Feeling politically
frustrated, he left for London
in 1930. He bought a house in
the upper class part of Lon-
don- Hampstead, was driven
byanEnglishChauffeurinhis
master’sRollsRoyce.Jinnah’s
lawpracticeflourished.Heap-
parently made a lot of money
.
The Muslim League was
rudderless, an elitist party of
Muslim Talukdars and rich
land owners. On the pleading
of Liaquat Ali Khan and oth-
er leaders, Jinnah was per-
suaded to return to India.
This he did in 1935.
Single handedly, he con-
verted the Muslim League
into a mass organisation.
The Congress did not take
him too seriously. Major po-
litical misjudgment. In the
1937 provincial elections the
performance of the Muslim
League was dismal. The Con-
gress did exceptionally well
and formed governments in
six out of eleven provinces.
In 1938-39 the Congress
faced serious internal prob-
lem. The Mahatma and Sub-
hash Chandra Bose did not
get on. Eventually Gandhi
had his way
.
GandhijilaunchedtheQuit
India movement on August 8,
1942. On the 9th he and all
members of the Congress
Working Committee were ar-
rested. The Mahatma for once
got it wrong. The Quit India
movement lasted for seven to
eight months and was bru-
tally suppressed by the Vice-
roy. The political field was
now at Jinnah’s hands.
From 1942 to 1947 The Mus-
lim League became a major
factor in India’s politics.
The Muslims were not a
minority but a nation, was
Jinnah’s unbeatable slogan.
India had to be divided. It was
on August 14-15 1947. Hence,
the India Freedom Movement
ended in partial failure.
Nehru himself conceded this.
M.A Jinnah did not spend
even a day in jail, did not face
a lathi charge nor took part
in a political hurtle. By 1946
he abandoned constitutional-
ism and resorted to Direct
Action. Recall the Calcutta
killings. Almost single- hand-
edly (the British behind the
curtain did help him) he cre-
ated Pakistan. Steadfast big-
otry and communalism suc-
ceeded. Millions of innocent
lives were lost when India
was partitioned.
Was Jinnah a great man?
In many ways, ‘he was.’ He
created a nation. However, he
could be disagreeably petty.
When Gandhiji was assassi-
nated, Jinnah issued the fol-
lowing incredible and grace-
less statement:
“Whatever our political
differences, he was one of the
greatest man produced by the
Hindu community, and a
leader who commanded their
universal confidence and re-
spect.
“I wish to express my sor-
row, and sincerely sympa-
thize with the great Hindu
Community and his family in
their bereavement at this mo-
mentous, historical and criti-
cal juncture so soon after the
birth of freedom and freedom
of Hindustan and Pakistan.
“The loss to the Dominion
of India is irreparable, and it
will be very difficult to fill
the vacuum created by the
passing away of such a great
man at this moment.”
But deeply moving and sin-
cere homage was paid to Gan-
dhiji in the Pakistan Constit-
uent Assembly by Prime
Minister Liaquat Ali Khan,
by the East Bengal premier,
Khwaja Nizamuddin, Mian
Mumtaz Daulatana, Premier
of Punjab, M.A. Khuhro, Pre-
mier of Sind.
M.A. Jinnah heard the
tributes to Gandhiji. Finally
he stood up and to some ex-
tent made up for atrocious
earlier statement.
“I have heard the deep ex-
pression of sorrow and grief
and I associate myself with
the tributes that have been
paid to this great man and his
greatness. He died in the dis-
charge of duty in which he
was engaged. He was man of
principles and when he be-
lieved that it was his duty he
took it up and performed it.
His tragic death, however,
much as we may deplore and
condemn it, was a noble
death for he died in the dis-
charge of the duty in which
he believed. I will convey the
message as desired by you,
Mr. Prime Minister, to the In-
dian people in due course.”
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
T
Jinnah at one time was
called the “ambassador” of
Hindu-Muslim Unity”, by
no less a person than
Sarojini Naidu. He was
member of the newly
founded Muslim League
and also of Congress. By
1920 Gandhiji had become
the Congress supremo.
Jinnah did not participate
in the non-cooperation
movement.
The Muslim were not a
minority but a nation, was
Jinnah’s unbeatable
slogan. India had to be
divided. It was on August
14-15 1947. Hence, the
India Freedom
Movement ended in
partial failure. Nehru
himself conceded this.
M.A. Jinnah did not spend
even a day in jail, didn’t
face a lathi charge nor took
part in a political hurtle. By
1946, he abandoned
constitutionalism and
resorted to Direct Action.
K NATWAR SINGH
The author is Former Minister
of External Affairs of India

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INDIA
05
New Delhi: After pass-
ing away of Ahmed Pa-
tel, Con-
gress gen-
eral secre-
tary Pri-
y a n k a
G a n d h i
Vadra has
emerged
t r o u b l e
shooter
within
the par-
ty and
all com-
plainants are landing at
her door with their
grievances. Most re-
cently, when Uttara-
khand crisis loomed
this week with former
Chief Minister Harish
Rawat targeting the
party, Priyanka Gandhi
stepped in to defuse the
tension and placated
the sulking leader.
This is not the first
time the Gandhi sibling
has managed crisis in
theparty
.Shewasinstru-
mental in Punjab and
was the main brain be-
hind the removal of
Amarinder Singh and
installing Navjot Singh
Sidhu in the party appa-
ratus. She along with
Rahul prevailed upon
Ashok Gehlot to accom-
modate Sachin Pilot loy-
alistsinthegovernment.
After UP polls, analysts
feel that the Congress
willhavetoofferPriyan-
ka Gandhi a bigger role
to reach out to leaders
who are not in sync with
Rahul Gandhi. Moreo-
ver, to win back the dis-
gruntledleaders and the
G-23 group, most of the
lot praised her for the
fight she took up in UP
after the Kheri incident.
While she has been
credited with making
party visible in UP by
raising issues at a short
span of time, the cur-
rent survey shows that
Cong may not gain elec-
torally in the state.
Will PGV get bigger role in Cong after UP polls?
BIG QUESTION
ALREADY IN CRISES
PM’scleanlinessmantra:Discipline,dedication
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Mann Ki Baat programme encouraged people to follow the Swachh Bharat initiative
New Delhi: With an
aim to encourage people
to follow the ‘Swachh
Bharat’ initiative, PM
Narendra Modi on Sun-
day said that the resolve
of cleanliness will be
fulfilled only with disci-
pline, awareness and
dedication. In his Mann
Ki Baat program on
Sunday
.
PM Modi cited an ex-
ample of ‘Puneet Sagar’
campaign undertaken
by cadets for cleanliness
in which more than 30
thousand NCC cadets
participated.
“These cadets
cleaned the beaches, re-
moved plastic waste
from there and collect-
ed it for recycling. Our
beaches, our mountains
are worth visiting only
when there is cleanli-
ness at the place,” he
said. He said that it is
the responsibility of
every countryman that
the places which give us
so much joy, should not
be made dirty by us.
Speaking about ‘Ek qad-
am swachhata ki ore’
effort, Modi said.
“Special campaigns
are also being run in
ministries and depart-
ments to remove the old
and pending material.
Some very interesting
things have happened
throughthiscampaign.”
“When this cleanliness
drive was started in the
Department of Post, the
junkyard there became
completely empty and
turned into a courtyard
and cafeteria.
LAST EDITION OF MANN KI BAAT 2021
New Delhi: PM will
hold Pariksha Pe Char-
cha with students be-
fore the annual exams
in 2022. Addressing the
nation in the 84th epi-
sode of his monthly ra-
dio programme 'Mann
Ki Baat' on Sunday,
PM said, I discuss
such similar topics
with students on ex-
ams. This year also I am
planning to discuss
with the students be-
fore the exams. The reg-
istration for this pro-
gramme is also going to
start two days later, Dec
28 onwards on Mygov.
in. The registration will
be from Dec 28 to Jan
20.Modi said an online
competition will also be
organized for teachers,
and parents of class IX
to XII students. I would
like you all to take part
in this. I will get an op-
portunity to meet you.
Together we will brain-
storm on many aspects
related to examination.
PM Modi to hold Pariksha Pe Charcha
2022: Registration begins on Dec 28
‘AWARENESS, DISCIPLINE OUR
STRENGTH IN FIGHTING OMICRON’
MODI LAUDS AP
AIRGUN SURRENDER
CAMPAIGN New Delhi: Amid the spread of the Omicron variant
of coronavirus, PM Modi on Sunday said self-
awareness and self-discipline are the country's
strengths in fighting against the novel variant
of the COVID. Addressing the nation in the 84th
episode of his monthly radio programme 'Mann
Ki Baat' on Sunday, Prime Minister said, Friends,
we also have to keep in mind that a new variant of
coronavirus has already knocked at the door. Our
scientists are continuously studying this new Omi-
cron variant. They are getting new data every day,
their suggestions are being worked upon. In such a
situation, self-awareness and self-discipline are the
country's strengths in fighting against this variant
of coronavirus. It is this very collective strength of
ours that will defeat COVID; with this very sense of
responsibility, we have to enter into 2022.
New Delhi: Prime
Minister on Sunday
congratulated the people
of Arunachal Pradesh for
adopting Airgun Sur-
render Campaign and
stated that more than
1,600 airguns have been
surrendered voluntarily
by the people here, In
this campaign, people
are voluntarily surrender-
ing their airguns, so that
indiscriminate hunting of
birds can be stopped in
Arunachal Pradesh.
Dispur: Hours after ex-
horting BJP's state unit
leaders to surrender
their security cover,
Assam CM Himanta
Biswa Sarma on Sun-
day revealed that BJPs'
Karimganj President
Subrata Bhattacharjee
has surrendered his
Personal Security Of-
ficer (PSO) on Saturday
.
The decision came
after Sarma asked BJP's
state unit leaders to sur-
render their security.
The CM had reportedly
said that having a PSO
is Congress culture
and we do not have any
threat of life for we
have done nothing
wrong. Sarma tweeted,
I am in deep gratitude,
grateful to Sri Subra-
ta Bhattacharjee, Presi-
dent BJP Karimganj for
having given up his
PSO on my request.
HIMANTA LAUDS BJP
KARIMGANJ CHIEF
New Delhi: An Indian
Army officer would
face a general court-
martial on 12 different
charges of corruption
and wrongdoings dur-
ing the demonetisation
exercise carried out in
Nov 2016 when some
new currency notes
were introduced and
old notes taken out of
circulation.
The GCM is sched-
uled to begin from Janu-
ary 10, 2022, at the West-
ern Command head-
quarters where discipli-
nary proceedings in the
cases related to corrup-
tion in demonetisation
have been going on. The
Army Captain was post-
ed in the Army Postal
Services in the Delhi
area during the demon-
etisation process when
the alleged acts of cor-
ruption took place, govt
sources told ANI. As
per the charges against
the Captain, through
illegal means, he al-
lowed an exchange of
old currency notes for
new notes on various
occasions on days when
no transaction was al-
lowed.The Indian
Army has been taking
strict action.
ARMY CAPTAIN
FACES COURT
MARTIAL FOR
CHEATING
New Delhi: Congress
MP Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury has writ-
ten a letter to PM Modi
regarding Covid Hos-
pital in West Bengal's
Murshidabad and
Kalyani.
I am very thankful
to you for sanctioning
two covid hospitals,
one for Murshidabad
and another for Kalya-
ni on my request
through the PM-Cares
Fund, the release
read. However, six
months have passed,
but no progress has
been made in the con-
struction/establish-
ment of the said hospi-
tals, Chowdhury said.
In view of third-wave
lurking around, I
would request you to
kindly instruct the
state govt to do the
needful on their part
in respect of the es-
tablishment of the
a b ove - m e n t i o n e d
makeshift covid hos-
pital and you may
also like to instruct
the concerned depart-
ment for the same.
Cong’s Adhir Ranjan writes to PM
regarding two Covid Hosps in WB
Bengaluru: With the
state witnessing a rise
in Omicron cases, the
Karnataka govt has
decided to impose a
night curfew from Dec
28 from 10 pm to 5 am
for ten days.
The announcement
came after Karnataka
CM Basavaraj Bommai
chaired a meeting with
cabinet colleagues, the
state chief secretary,
and other senior offi-
cials from health and
police departments.
Addressing a press
conferenceon Sunday ,
Karnataka Health Min
K Sudhakar said,. New
Year celebrations at
pubs, restaurants and
hotels are banned. Sec-
tion 144 will be im-
posed in the state from
December 28.” Sudha-
kar added, “Only 50
per cent seating ar-
rangements are al-
lowed in hotels.
He also said the
COVID-19 vaccine will
be administered to
children aged 15 to 18
and booster shot to
those above 60 years
and have comorbidity
conditions.
NIGHTCURFEWINK’TAKAFOR10 DAYS
35% OF ADULT POPULATION
YET TO BE VACCINATED: CONG
New Delhi: With the number of Omicron cases
rising in India, the Congress attacked the Centre
and asked by when the govt is intending to vac-
cinate the remaining 35 per
cent of the adult population
of the country.Speaking
at the press conference,
Congress spokesperson
Randeep Surjewala said,
“According to the PIB data
and affidavit submitted in
the Supreme Court, around 36 crore of the
eligible population is yet to receive the second
dose of COVID dose while 11 crores to get both
the doses. By when the govt will inoculate this
population? The govt had promised to vaccinate
the adult population by December 31. However,
it has not fulfilled the promise.”The Congress
party also questioned why the government is
administering vaccines to children.
New Delhi: Modi
on Sunday praised
the Drone show
organized in the
Residency area
of Lucknow and
said that different
aspects of the Indian
freedom struggle
were brought to life
by the show. This
drone show was
organized in the
Residency area of
Lucknow.Describing
the 'Drone show',
the PM said that
different aspects of
the Indian free-
dom struggle were
brought to life during
the show.Similarly,
you can also bring
to the people the
unique aspects re-
lated to the freedom
movement con-
nected to your cities,
villages.
PM MODI
PRAISES
‘DRONE SHOW’
ORGANIZED IN
LUCKNOW
PM recalls
late Group
Captain Varun
Singh’s letter
New Delhi: Modi
on Sunday lauded
late Group Captain
Varun Singh for
giving the mantra
of turning “ordi-
nary into extraordi-
nary” in a letter
written to his
School Principal af-
ter receiving Shau-
rya Chakra by Pres-
ident Ram Nath
Kovind for his act
of exceptional gal-
lantry. “Many peo-
ple are engaged in
serving ‘Maa
Bharati’ and touch-
es heights with
pride everyday.
They teach us a lot
of things. This was
the life of our
Group Captain
Varun Singh who
died in Tamil Nadu
chopper crash.
He informed that the Ministry of Envi-
ronment has also converted its vacant
junkyard into a wellness centre and the
Ministry of Urban Affairs has installed a
Swachh ATM too. —Narendra Modi, PM
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi: The sudden
premature repatriation
on Sunday of Special
Director in the Intelli-
gence Bureau Sunil Ku-
mar Bansal, a 1987
batch IPS, to the parent
cadre of Odisha is seen
to have been done with
a view to making him
the next state DGP as
the incumbent Abhay, a
1986 batch IPS officer, is
scheduled to retire on
December 31 after com-
pleting his two-year
term (including six
months of extension).
Bansal’s repatriation
is seen similar to an-
other Special Director
N K Mishra (1988 batch
IPS) who was repatri-
ated from IB to the cad-
re (Sikkim) state on No-
vember 11, 2021. Three
weeks later Mishra was
made the interim-DGP
of the state.
It may be pointed that
earlier Special Director
(IB) Sheel Vardhan Sin-
gh (IPS:1986:BH) was
drafted as DG, CISF on
November 09, 2021.
Singh’s appointment
in CISF and simultane-
ous repatriation of NK
Mishra was seen in of-
ficial circles as part of
a plan to pave the way
for appointing the next
IB Chief. However, soon
after (on November 16,
2021) the government
empowered itself to ex-
tend the services of
certain key investigat-
ing officials including
the IB chief. This
cleared the fog on the
succession issue in the
IB and necessitated the
suitable accommoda-
tion of its senior offi-
cials. Bansal’s repatria-
tion followed this
scheme of things.
To settle the matter,
the UPSC on December
09, 2021, conducted a
meeting joined by state
chief secretary Suresh
Chandra Mahapatra
and outgoing DGP Ab-
hay, both 1986 batch of-
ficers, at its Delhi office.
It may be noted that
the Odisha government
had already issued a no-
tification in November,
allowing Abhay to su-
perannuate on Decem-
ber 31. It may be under-
lined that Abhay is the
first Odisha DGP to
serve for two full years
as stipulated by the Su-
preme Court. The state
government also sub-
mitted a list of three
prospective candidates
for selection as the next
state DGP. Bansal’s
name figured in the list.
Though, initially
Sunil Kumar Bansal’s
appointment for the
DGP post seemed bleak
as he has been away
from Odisha for more
than 15 years on central
deputation. But finally,
with repatriation or-
ders notified by the
Centre on Sunday,
Bansal is set to succeed
Abhay as Odisha DGP.
IB’s Spl Dir prematurely
repatriated, set to take
over as Odisha DGP
CM Himanta Biswa
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
MP Adhir Ranjan
Sunil Kumar Bansal

INDIA
06
New Delhi: A day after
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi authorised
booster dose and vacci-
nation of those above 15
years of age, the Con-
gress has questioned
the availability of jabs.
The party demanded
vaccination for all
above 3 years of age.
Addressing a press
conference, party Gen-
eral Secretary Randeep
Singh Surjewala said:
“Is Modi Govt failing
India by tepid response
to Omicron variant bor-
dering on directionless
drift? Is India’s Covid-19
vaccine policy marred
by failure of leadership,
rudderless response
and planless prepara-
tion?”
Wounds inflicted by
the pandemic will not
be healed by lip service
or coming on the televi-
sion and the govern-
ment cannot run away
from its responsibilities
by changing vaccina-
tion policy each day, he
said.
The Congress alleged
that the government is
playing with the lives
of the people.
Surjewala asked
when will 47.95 crore
people, whose second
dose is due, be vacci-
nated?
“As per the govern-
ment, the population of
those over 18 years is 94
crore. But according to
the government data till
December 25, 36.50
crore people have not
received the second
dose, while 11.45 crore
have not received even
one dose,” he claimed.
“The government
said that the vaccine
manufacturing capaci-
ty will be 16.80 crore per
month but the required
dose is 95 crore. How is
it possible to vaccinate
people in 149 days?”
Surjewala asked.
PM Modi on Saturday
announced that people
in the age group of 15-18
years will be eligible to
get vaccine against nov-
el coronavirus from
January 3, 2022. “The
decision to vaccinate
children will not only
strengthen our fight
against COVID, rather
it would also reduce the
worries of parents
whose children are go-
ing to schools,” the
Prime Minister said
while announcing the
major decision. Apart
from children’s vac-
cine, a precaution dose
for healthcare workers
will also start from Jan-
uary 10. —AGENCIES
Srinagar: The killer of
a police official was
among the six terrorists
neutralised in the last 48
hours in four anti-ter-
rorist operations in
Kashmir, officials said
on Sunday
.
Police said based on
intelligence regarding
the presence of a ter-
rorist in a Anantnag’s
village, a joint cordon
and search operation
was launched by the po-
lice and army’s 3 RR on
Saturday
.
“During the search
operation, presence of
terrorist was ascer-
tained, we’ve asked him
to surrender. But in-
stead of surrender he
fired indiscriminately
upon the joint search
party which retaliated
leading to an encoun-
ter,” police said.
In the ensuing en-
counter, the trapped ter-
rorist was killed. “He
has been identified as
Faheem Bhat, a resident
of Kandipora, Anant-
nag.” police said
Incriminating mate-
rials, including arms
and ammunition, were
recovered from his pos-
session.
Pertinently
, in the last
48 hours, joint teams of
police and the security
forces neutralised six
terrorists in four suc-
cessful anti-terrorist op-
erations without any
collateral damage.
6 terrorists killed in 48-hrs in Kashmir security ops
TENSION IN VALLEY
When will 47.95 crore people with second dose due be vaccinated? asks Surjewala
AS INDIA OPENS VAX FOR 15-18,
CONG QUESTIONS AVAILABILITY
‘PM present at campaigns
but absent in Parliament’
Kalaburagi (Karna-
taka) : Leader of the
Opposition in Rajya
Sabha Mallikarjun
Kharge took a dig at
dra Modi on Sunday by
saying that the “PM
could make himself
available for the elec-
tion campaign every
day but he chose to be
absent in the Parlia-
ment for all the days.”
“There was logjam in
the Rajya Sabha. He
could have come and
eased it out but he
didn’t,” said Kharge.
On PM Modi’s an-
nouncement of a vac-
cination drive for chil-
dren between 15 and 18
years of age from Jan-
uary 3 and booster
doses for healthcare
and frontline workers,
Kharge said that there
is nothing to talk about
it as the COVID-19
third wave is the same
throughout the world
and all the Prime Min-
isters and Presidents
around the world are
taking necessary pre-
cautions.
“It is just that our
PM talks about his
achievements and be-
lieves in addressing the
nation rather than do-
ing actual work on
COVID-19. He had even
decreased the deaths
due to COVID-19 infec-
tion”, the leader of Op-
position added.
“Before this never
have a Prime Minis-
ters ever done public-
ity for his party just
like PM Narendra
Modi does for BJP”,
added Kharge.
Kharge opined that a
leader should think
about making common
people’s lives better in-
stead of “dictating
them about what to eat
and how to live.” —ANI
‘Tell RaGa that respect being
commanded, not demanded’
New Delhi: Union Min-
ister of Parliamentary
Affairs Pralhad Joshi on
Sunday slammed Con-
gress MP Jairam
Ramesh and his col-
leagues for allegedly in-
dulging in hooliganism
duringmonsoonsession.
Sharing a video of
the monsoon session of
the Parliament, Joshi in
a tweet said, “As peo-
ple’s representatives, it
is the duty of Parlia-
mentarians to respect
the Chair and behave in
a manner worthy of
their standing. Howev-
er Jairam Ramesh,
your colleagues chose
disruption over debate.
It was unfortunate as
the whole country wit-
nessed their sheer hoo-
liganism.”
Joshi further
slammed Rahul Gandhi
and said that respect is
commanded and not de-
manded,
“To err is human but
to repeatedly justify it
is foolish. We were al-
ways ready to withdraw
suspension had your
colleagues apologised,
but they were only jus-
tifying. You must not
lose your way while
pleasing RaGa. Do tell
him about respect being
commanded and not de-
manded,” he said. —ANI
CRUCIAL READ
MAHA GOVT DENIED NOD FOR NADDA’S
VISIT TO VAJPAYEE STATUE EVENT : BJP
Mumbai: BJP president J P Nadda’s visit to Mumbai to
unveil a statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vaj-
payee was cancelled, following which the party claimed
the Maharashtra government denied permission for
the event at the last minute.
The event was scheduled on
Saturday, on the occasion of
Vajpayee’s birth anniversary,
at a sports complex in sub-
urban Kandivali. Maharashtra
is currently governed by the
three-party alliance of the Shiv
Sena, NCP and Congress. BJP
Lok Sabha member from north Mumbai Gopal Shetty
claimed that state Sports Minister Sunil Kedar “denied
permission for the event at the last minute”.
PRESIDENT KOVIND GIVES ASSENT TO
SURROGACY (REGULATION) ACT, 2021
New Delhi: The Presidential assent, which came on
Saturday, was published in the government gazette
immediately. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on
Dec 17 after the Rajya Sabha passed it on Dec 8. The
Act defines surrogacy
as a practice where a
woman gives birth to a
child for an intending
couple with the intention
of handing over the child
to the couple after its
birth. The Bill prohibits
commercial surrogacy and allows only altruistic sur-
rogacy which involves no monetary compensation to
the surrogate mother other than the medical expenses
and insurance coverage during pregnancy.
THAROOR CAN GO
OUT OF PARTY:
KERALA CONG CHIEF
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Pradesh Con-
gress Committee Chief K
Sudhakaran on Sunday
threatened to take ac-
tion against his party
MP Shashi Tharoor,
saying he was only an
individual in the party
and if he does not abide
by the party line ‘he will
have to go out of the
party’. Keral’s Congress
chief Sudhakaran was
speaking to reporters in
his hometown Kannur
while responding to the
political stand taken by
Tharoor that he required
more time to study on
the controversial high-
speed rail project which
is being implemented by
the state government.
AIDE OF FORMER
CM’S PA HELD FOR
TAKING BRIBE
Chennai: The Salem Dis-
trict Crime Branch (DCB)
has arrested a person
who was an aide of for-
mer CM K. Palaniswami’s
personal assistant, for
allegedly taking bribe
from an engineer promis-
ing him a govt job during
the previous AIADMK
regime. The accused K.
Selvakumar (45) of Ka-
dayampatty was arrested
on Saturday. Selvakumar
was a close aide of G.
Mani alias Nadupetti Mani
who was the personal
assistant of Palniswami.
According to the Crime
Branch, Tamil Selvan
(29), was approached by
the duo, demanding Rs
17 lakh bribe in leu of a
job at TNTC.
2 more names in
police complaint
in Haridwar Hate
speech case
Haridwar: Haridwar
Superintendent of Po-
lice (SP) City Shekhar
Suyal on Saturday said
that two more persons
have been named in the
FIR in connection with
the alleged hate speech
in the Dharma Sansad
in Haridwar.
The police have
named Dharm Das and
Annapurna, a woman
in the hate speech case.
Earlier on Wednesday,
police said it had
booked Wasim Rizvi
aka Jitendra Tyagi, and
others under Section
153A Indian Penal Code
in the case.
Meanwhile, Anand
Swaroop, an attendee of
Dharma Sansad said,
“We stand by our state-
ments that are well
thought out. If a person
rapes our sister, won’t
we kill him? Speakers
talkedaboutkillingsuch
persons, not ordinary
Muslims who are our
friends. No one can stop
India from becoming
Hindu Rashtra”. —ANI
TWO COPS INJURED IN GRENADE
ATTACK IN JK’S PULWAMA
RAHUL GANDHI TO LAUNCH PUNJAB
POLL CAMPAIGN ON JAN 3 FROM MOGA
Pulwama: Two policemen were injured in a
militant attack, as a grenade was hurled towards a
police party in south
Kashmir’s Pulwama
district on Sunday.
Reports said the
militants lobbed the
grenade towards a
police party near the
Pulwama Post Office,
causing splinter injuries to two policemen. The
injured cops were immediately shifted to a hospital
while the area was cordoned off to nab the attack-
ers, according to reports.
New Delhi: Cong leader Rahul Gandhi
will start campaigning for the Punjab
assembly election from January 3,
sources reported. He will address
a rally in Moga on January 3. Pun-
jab assembly polls will be held in
2022. In the 2017 Punjab Assem-
bly polls, Congress won
an absolute major-
ity in the state by
winning 77 seats
and ousted
the SAD-BJP
govt. —ANI
Joint teams of police and the security forces have neutralised six
terrorists so far. —FILE PHOTO
Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
New Delhi: The Indian
Medical Association
(IMA) on Sunday said
that the Centre should
ensure the large-scale
availability of Cov-
axin if a mixed match
policy is adopted
for booster doses
for healthcare work-
ers, as the majority
of the people have
taken Covishield as
their first and second
doses. “On behalf
of the frontline and
healthcare workers,
we hail the announce-
ment of the Prime
Minister for the
precautionary booster
dose for healthcare
and frontline work-
ers. It is the right
step as the imminent
third wave by the new
variant is a matter of
concern. “Omicron is
at our doorstep and
we need to protect our
healthcare and front-
line workers in all pos-
sible ways”, the IMA
said in a statement.
On the ongoing RDA
strike which has hit all
the medical services
in the national capital,
the IMA said that the
issue of expediting
PG counseling is the
need of the hour to
increase manpower
ahead of the looming
third wave threat. The
infrastructure without
manpower is a futile
measure, it added.
The association has
also welcomed the
government’s decision
to inoculate children
between 15-18 years
of age. J A Jayalal,
National President of
the IMA, said: “The
IMA also welcomes the
much-awaited decision
of vaccination for chil-
dren from January 3.
At this moment of reo-
pening of schools, this
will be the welcome
step to bring additional
safety to children. The
vaccination process
for children must be
handled with much
more care and con-
stant monitoring and
surveillance must be
ensured.” —PTI
ENSURE
AVAILABILITY
OF COVAXIN
IF MIXED
MATCH
POLICY FOR
BOOSTER
IS ADOPTED:
IMA
As per the government,
the population of those
over 18 years is 94 crore.
But according to the
government data till De-
cember 25, 36.50 crore
people have not received
the second dose, while
11.45 crore have not re-
ceived even one dose.
—Randeep Surjewala,
Gen Secy
INDIA’S
OMICRON TALLY
TOUCHES 422
CHINA’SSINOVACINSUFFICIENTAGAINSTOMICRON:STUDY
As many as 422
Omicron cases
have been detected
across 17 states and
UTs in India so far and
130 of these people
have recovered or
migrated, according to
Union health ministry
data updated on Sun-
day. Maharashtra has
recorded the highest
number of Omicron
cases at 108, fol-
lowed by Delhi at 79,
Gujarat 43, Telangana
41, Kerala 38, Tamil
Nadu 34 and Karna-
taka 31. India’s total
caseload increased to
3,47,86,802.
Contradicting the vaccine maker’s pro-
nouncement, a new study has found
that third dose of Sinovac’s Covid-19 vax
does not provide sufficient protection
against the Omicron variant. According to
Nikkei Asia, the University of Hong Kong
(HKU) and the Chinese University study,
a third shot of what is one of the world’s
most widely used Covid-19 vaccines does
not produce enough levels of virus-neu-
tralising antibodies. Sinovac last week said
its own study had found that a third dose
was “effective in improving the serum
neutralising against the omicron strain”.
Rahul Gandhi
Mallikarjun Kharge

NEWS
07
ALL’S WELL IN
UP’S EDUCATION
SECTOR! IS IT?
While the AAP may be taking
frequent potshots at the
state government given the
inadequate and mismanaged
education infrastructure in Uttar
Pradesh, state’s Deputy CM
Dinesh Sharma feels that there
have been several measures
taken that are and will reap
dividends in future. Uttar
Pradesh Deputy CM Dinesh
Sharma on Sunday informed that
the state government has
undertaken several reforms in
the education policy of the state
and has added many
employment oriented courses.
Sharma met Union Education
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in
the national capital, earlier today
and discussed the education
policies in the state. Sharma
said, “I had an elaborate
discussion over the education
policy of the state with
Dharmendra Pradhan. Uttar
Pradesh is ahead of every state
in terms of education.” “The
state government has made
several changes in the education
policy of the state and has added
several employment-oriented
courses,” he added. However,
the major question still persists
that when all is well, why UP still
ranks low on national levels.
—First India Bureau
BRAHMINS
WERE AND ARE
WITH BJP:
DINESH SHARMA
Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh
Assembly elections, Deputy
Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma
denied the rumours that the
Brahmin community in Uttar
Pradesh is not satisfied with the
ruling party in the state.
This comes after BJP leaders
met Union Minister and party’s
Uttar Pradesh election in-
charge Dharmendra Pradhan in
the national capital to chalk out
the strategy to woo Brahmin
voters.
Sharma said, “This time the
elections are beyond the castes
and fraternity. If you look at the
people joining us during the
yatras and public rallies, all the
previous records have been
broken.” He further stated that
over 15,000 people are
gathering in the public meetings
of local BJP leaders. “We do
not work on the basis of caste
or religion. We are asking for a
vote on the basis of the work
done by us in the last 5 years,”
he said. Speaking over the
Lakhimpur Kheri incident,
Sharma said that the
involvement of Ajay Mishra Teni
in the matter would not affect
the election because the
opposition does propaganda
before the election.
—First India Bureau
Pradhan holds brainstorming
session with party’s leaders
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The BJP’s
Uttar Pradesh poll in-
charge Dharmendra
Pradhan Sunday held a
brainstorming session
with the party’s Brah-
min leaders from the
state where it was de-
cided to form a commit-
tee to carry out the
BJP’s reach out activi-
ties to the community,
sources said. With an
aim to keep caste equa-
tions in BJP’s favour
ahead of the assembly
polls in UP next year,
Pradhan held more than
three-hour marathon
meeting at his residence
here which was attend-
ed by over a dozen Brah-
min leaders, they said.
During the meeting,
it was decided to form
an informal committee
of the party’s Brahmin
leaders to reach out to
this crucial segment of
voters and share the
various welfare meas-
ures meant for them
such as 10 per cent res-
ervation for poor hail-
ing from upper caste,
they said. The meeting
at Pradhan’s residence
was attended by the
party’s all prominent
Brahmin leaders from
the state which, among
others, included Jitin
Prasada, Ramapati Tri-
pathi, several MPs,
Deputy CM Dinesh
Sharma, state cabinet
ministers Shrikant
Sharma Brijesh
Pathak. Talking to re-
porters afterwards,
Sharma said the meet-
ing was about the Uttar
Pradesh assembly elec-
tions. He categorically
stated that no section
of the society or caste
is upset with the BJP.
“There are several
Brahmin ministers in
the BJP govt in UP and
the party works by tak-
ing all sections of the
society forward,” he
said in response to a
question. The sources
said Pradhan discussed
various issues with the
party leaders and also
took their feedback for
the upcoming elec-
tions. In its bid to woo
Brahmins, the BJP had
earlier held Brahmin
Sammelans as an out-
reach exercise to the
community.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Janata Dal
(United) National Pres-
ident of JD(U) Rajeev
Ranjan Singh alias La-
lan Singh said his par-
ty was informed that
BJP is ready for an alli-
ance with them for the
upcoming assembly
elections in Uttar
Pradesh. “We were in-
formed that BJP is
ready for an alliance
with us for the upcom-
ing assembly elections
in Uttar Pradesh. We
have given them a list
for the same,” Singh
said. “We hope to win
the upcoming elec-
tions,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh As-
sembly elections are
slated to be held next
year. In the 2017 As-
sembly elections in Ut-
tar Pradesh, the
Bharatiya Janata Party
bagged 312 seats out of
the 403-seat Uttar
Pradesh Assembly
while Samajwadi Party
(SP) bagged 47 seats,
Bahujan Samajwadi
Party (BSP) won 19 and
Congress could man-
age to win only seven
seats. The rest of the
seats were bagged by
other candidates.
BJP has divided the
entire state into three
regions with top leaders
having been assigned
two each. Union De-
fence Minister has been
given Kashi and Awadh
to oversee poll prepara-
tions while Home Min-
ister Amit Shah has
been assigned Kashi
and Awadh. BJP presi-
dent JP Nadda has been
given assigned Kanpur
and Gorakhpur.
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Alla-
habad HC has asked the
UP govt to file reply
(counter affidavit) stat-
ing therein as to how
many persons are being
paid monthly pension
fraudulentlybyshowing
themselves to be de-
tained as political pris-
oners when national
emergency was invoked
in the country from
June 25, 1975 to March
21, 1977. Besides, the
court also directed to
specify in the reply as to
whether these pension-
ers were the political
prisoners and hence, en-
titled to get pension or
were in jail on account
of certainotheroffences
committed by them.
Hearing a PIL filed by
one Ashok Kumar
Shamsha, a division
bench comprising Chief
Justice Rajesh Bindal
and Justice Piyush
Agarwal in its order
dated December 16 ad-
journed the hearing of
the case to April 18, 2022
for the next hearing. In
the PIL, the petitioner
has claimed that many
personsarefraudulently
receiving monthly pen-
sion actually meant for
political prisoners of
the emergency era. The
contention raised in the
petition was that the
manypersons,whohave
been made respondents
in the PIL, are recorded
criminals,buthavebeen
extended the benefit of
politicalpensioninspite
of the fact that some of
them have been convict-
ed for heinous offences.
Dharmendra Pradhan
With an aim to keep caste equations in BJP’s favour ahead of the assembly polls in
UP, Pradhan held a marathon meeting attended by over a dozen Brahmin leaders
We have been told
BJP ready for alliance
with JD-U: Ranjan
ONE WITH THE CHRIST
People gleefully celebrating Christmas festivities at the Cathedral Church in Lucknow on Saturday.
Reply on fraudulent pension beneficiaries: HC to UP
OUTREACH PROG
‘Kashi Film Festival’ to
give new identity to UP
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Known for
its rich traditions
and culture for centu-
ries, a new chapter is
set to be scripted in
Kashi this week as a
three-day Kashi Film
Festival will begin
here from December
27. The festival will
not only show glimps-
es of Hindustani clas-
sical music and dance
but will also refresh
the memories of fa-
mous philosopher po-
ets, writers, musi-
cians and the Ba-
naras Gharana.
Famous stand-up
comedian Raju Sriv-
astava will also be
present in the temple
town to tickle the ribs
of the public while
Dream Girl Hema
Malini’s performanc-
es will also make the
do memorable. It is
for the first time that
such a Film Festival
is being organized in
the city of Lord Shi-
va. The festival is be-
ing organised in col-
laboration with Film
Bandhu, the Govern-
ment of UP the In-
formation and Broad-
casting Ministry, the
Government of India.
The festival will be
inaugurated on De-
cember 27 at 04 pm in
Kashi city where the
chief guest, Minister
of State for Tourism,
Culture, Charitable
Affairs, Protocol Dr
Neelkanth Tiwari
and Secretary, Minis-
try of Information
and Broadcasting,
Government of India
Apoorva Chandra
will be the special
guest. During this,
the presentation of
Manoj Joshi at the In-
ternational Coopera-
tion and Convention
Center in Varanasi is
set to be a centre of
attraction.
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
LIVE SHOW
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Con-
gress on Sunday
termed UP CM Yogi
Aditynath “Bulldozer-
nath”, or the lord of
bulldozers, while ac-
cusing him of crushing
the dreams of the girls
who wanted to run a
marathon organised by
the party in Lucknow
Congress General
secretary Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra also
slammed the UP gov-
ernment, saying girls
won’t tolerate it and
will fight for their
rights. The statements
came after the Luc-
know authorities did
not allow the party to
hold the race there.
The race was held in
Jhansi on Sunday un-
der the party’s “Ladki
Hoon, Lad Sakti hoon”
election campaign.
“The destructive gov-
ernment of ‘Bulldozer-
nath’ tramples upon the
dreams of the youth re-
peatedly. Sometime by
question paper leak,
sometimes by not de-
claring recruitment and
sometimes using force
against them,” a Cong
tweet said. “This time,
the anti-women bulldoz-
er of Yogi has run over
the dreams of brave
girls,” the party said.
Congress calls UP CM
Bulldozernath, says he
crushed girls’ dreams
The race was
held under
party’s “Ladki
Hoon, Lad Sakti
hoon” election
campaign
UP POLLS

08
2NDFRONT
Choose to spend these last few
days of 2021 mending bridges
and reaching out to others.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
UP heading towards BJP-SP bipolar contest
First India Bureau
Lucknow: UP is head-
ing towards no-holds-
barred electoral battle
between ruling BJP
and Samajwadi Party
as the prospects of bi-
polar elections in 2022
UP elections has be-
come quite clear.
Both parties have
sewed up a comfortable
caste-based alliance
with smaller parties to
upstage each other.
While caste strategies
are vital for the two
parties and both have
come up with formida-
ble combinations, the
BJP has pushed an ar-
ray of senior leaders
into the campaigning
with unmatched organ-
izational machinery to
counter the SP where
Akhilesh Yadav as of
now is the only star
campaigner.
The recent poll sur-
vey of ABP-C-Voter has
once indicated direct
fight between the two
parties with BJP hav-
ing a clear edge over
the rival SP. The survey
indicated 48 per cent
people preferred BJP to
31 per cent for the SP.
As a part of the narra-
tive, the BJP has also
been trying to revive
the memory of people
about “bad law and or-
der” during the SP re-
gime in 2012-17. Almost
in every speech be it
Modi, chief minister
Yogi Adityanath or any
other leader “SP’s so-
called Mafiosi rule”
has become a regular
phenomenon. The SP
chief Akhilesh Yadav
has however been tar-
geting “five-year mis-
rule of Baba (Yogi Adi-
tyanath).” Modi’s at-
tack on SP with his
“Red Cap” comment at
Gorakhpur rally re-
cently has effectively
made the contest bipo-
lar as both parties have
been avoiding taking
on BSP and Congress.
With developmental
issues and accusations
against each other
playing a peripheral
role in electoral narra-
tive, caste combination
has been mainstay of
election strategy of the
political parties in UP.
And it is again at play
as the stage is being
prepared for crucial do-
or-die battle in 2022.
After a miserable rout
in 2017, the SP has
come a long way to give
a formidable fight to
ruling BJP. Few months
ago, it was being pre-
sumed as “cake-walk”
for the BJP, but the way
SP has recovered itself
and geared up for battle
the saffron brigade
from Lucknow and Del-
hi have been forced to
re-strategize the whole
plan to defend the bas-
tion. For BJP victory is
crucial as the road to
Delhi goes from Luc-
know. The ruling BJP
has launched extensive
multipronged exercis-
es to keep its base in-
tact in the crucial
Purvanchal region.
—PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION
SACRIFICE
First India Bureau
Lucknow:Lucknow
bid a teary-eyed adieu
to its brave son Wing
Commander Harshit
Sinha who died in MiG-
21 fighter jet crash in
Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer
on Saturday
.
The last rites of Wing
Commander Sinha
were performed with
full military honors in
Lucknow on Sunday at
the Baikunth Dham.
Sinha’s body was hand-
ed over to his family
members after a post
mortem was conducted.
The family members
and Army officials paid
him tribute.
Sinha was commis-
sioned into the IAF in
the year 2004 and his
relatives said he was in-
spired by India’s victo-
ry over Pakistan in the
1999 Kargil War.
A MiG-21 plane of the
Indian Air Force
crashed in Rajasthan’s
Jaisalmer Friday night
during a training sortie
and the pilot was killed.
The pilot killed in ac-
tion was Wing Com-
mander Harshit Sinha,
the Indian Air Force
(IAF) said.The plane
crashed in the Desert
National Park area un-
der the Sam police sta-
tion, Jaisalmer SP Ajay
Singh told PTI.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Thousands
of women in Jhansi
participated in a mara-
thon race organised by
Congress on Sunday.
The marathon is a part
of Congress’ poll cam-
paign ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad
Sakti Hoon’ focusing
on women in Uttar
Pradesh where Assem-
bly elections are due
next year.
Congress General
Secretary Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra on Sun-
day alleged that the UP
govt did not give per-
mission for the mara-
thon in Lucknow. She
said that girls from
Jhansi have sent the
message that they will
not tolerate such moves
by the state govt. In a
tweet, she shared a vid-
eo of girls running in a
marathon in Jhansi. To
ensure participation in
the event, the party did
not charge any entry
fee and announced at-
tractive prizes that in-
cluded two-wheelers,
smartphones, fitness
bands and medals. ,
Priyanka said in press
confrence held in Luc-
know , “Women em-
powerment is possible
only when women
get equal rights and get
respect.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: BJP leader
Radha Mohan Singh on
Sunday said CM Yogi
Aditynath restored the
cultural heritage of the
state despite challeng-
es he inherited.
The party national
vice-president and UP
in-charge alleged Adi-
tyanath inherited a
state riven with cor-
ruption and mafia rule
due to misrule by the
previous govt. ”For a
long time, corruption,
mafia rule, terror and
appeasement had
gripped UP. The earlier
govt had never paid at-
tention to the state’s
development, but in-
dulged in politics of ap-
peasement for the de-
velopment of their
votebanks,” Singh said
addressing a ‘Kisan
Sammelan’ in Phepha-
na village. He said the
cultural heritage of the
state was reestablished
after formation of Nar-
endra Modi govern-
ment at the Centre and
Adityanath’s in the
state.
First India Bureau
Lucknow:Olympics
silver medallist weight-
lifter Saikhom Mirabai
Chanu received a cash
reward of Rs 1.50 crore
by the UP govt present-
ed by the CMYogi Adi-
tyanath at the Bharat
Ratna Atal Bihari Vaj-
payee Ekana Stadium
in Lucknow on win-
ning a silver medal for
India in weightlifting
at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I’m grateful to receive
such respect. We never
got such recognition
earlier, so it’s a proud
moment for us,” Olym-
pic silver medallist Mi-
rabai Chanu told ANI
at the event after re-
ceiving the reward.
Mirabai Chanu had
won India’s first medal
of the Tokyo Olympics
by winning a silver
medal in the 49 Kg
weight category as In-
dia went to produce
their best performance
as well as their best-
ever medal haul of 7
medals in the Olym-
pics. India bagged four
bronze, two silver and
one gold medal in To-
kyo Olympics. UP state
govt gives cash prizes
of Rs 2 crores to the
gold medallists, Rs 1.50
cr to the silver medal-
lists and Rs 1 Crore to
the bronze medallists.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi on Sunday
praised the “Drone
show” organized in
the Residency area
of Lucknow and said
that different as-
pects of the Indian
freedom struggle
by the show. Ad-
dressing the Mann
Ki Baat radio pro-
gram on Sunday.
PM Modi said, “I
would also like to
discuss a post of
Nilesh, a resident of
Lucknow. Nilesh has
showered praises on
a unique Drone
Show in Lko. This
drone show was or-
ganized in the Resi-
dency area of Luc-
know.” Describing
the ‘Drone show’, the
Prime Minister said
that different as-
pects of the Indian
freedom struggle
during the show.
“The testimony of
the first freedom
struggle of 1857 is
still visible on the
walls of the Residen-
cy
. Differ aspects like
‘Chauri Chaura An-
dolan ‘, the ‘ Kakori
Train ‘ incident or
Netaji Subhash’s in-
domitable courage
and valor were
brought to the life.
This Drone Show
won everyone’s
hearts,” Modi stated.
—FILE PHOTO
WingCommanderHarshitSinhacrematedinLko LARGE
GATHERING AT
CONG‘MAHILA
MARATHON’
India bagged
four bronze, two
silver and one
gold medal in
Tokyo Olympics.
IAF personnel shoulder the mortal remains of Wing Commander Harshit Sinha as they head towards Baikunth Dham in Lucknow for his
last rites on Sunday.
CM Yogi handing over a ` 1.5 crore cheque to Olympic Silver
Medalist Mirabai Chanu in Lucknow. Also present were state
Cabinet Min Satish Mahana and Union Min Dharmendra Pradhan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi —FILE PHOTO
PM praises Lko
drone show in
Mann Ki Baat
Encouraging people
for bringing such
unique aspects to the
people, PM Modi said,
“Similarly, you can
also bring to the peo-
ple the unique aspects
related to the freedom
movement connected
to your cities, villages.
In that you can take a
lot of help of technol-
ogy.”Let us continue
to be inspired by the
great personalities of
the freedom struggle,
continue to further
strengthen our efforts
for the country.
PM BOOSTING
CONFIDENCE
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Con-
gress used to be a dem-
ocratic organisation till
the country gained In-
dependence but after
that it became “proper-
ty” of one family, with
power being trans-
ferred from one genera-
tion to another, UP As-
sembly Speaker Hriday
Narayan Dixit said on
Sunday
.
He also hit out at Con-
gress leader Rahul
Gandhi over his recent
“Hindu versus Hindut-
va” jibe at the BJP, say-
ing he is in a “dilemma”
as he himself does not
understand the concept
and advised him to read
the book, “Discovery of
India”, penned by his
great grandfather and
former PM Jawaharlal
Nehru. The five-time
MLA from Bhagwant-
nagar in Unnao de-
scribed the patch-up
between Samajwadi
president Akhilesh Ya-
dav and his uncle
Shivpal Singh Yadav as
an event in a family and
said it should not be
seen from a political
point of view.
Dixit also hailed
dra Modi as a leader of
“global repute” and
claimed that the BJP
will win around 350 of
403 seats in the next
year’s state Assembly
polls. Taking at swipe at
the Cong, Dixit said,
“Till Independence, the
Congress used to be a
democratic organisa-
tion. But after Indepen-
dence, Jawaharlal Neh-
ru headed the govt as
well as the party.”
”Since then, the trend
started that the party
became a property of
the (Nehru-Gandhi)
family. With respect, I
would say that the Cong
became the property of
Nehru,” he told PTI. He
also said Rahul Gandhi
was adamant on taking
part in the debate over
Hindu and Hindutva
without understanding
the issue himself.“-
Those who consider me
successful, I only tell
them that this success
is collective,” he said.
Cong became property of one family after Independence:Narayan Dixit
FROM ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER

He praised
Union ministers
Amit Shah,
Rajnath Singh
and Nitin
Gadkari and UP
Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath UP Assembly Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit —FILE PHOTO
‘Yogi restored UP’s
heritage despite probs’
ATTACKING
Mirabai Chanu receives `1.50
crore reward by UP govt
—FILE PHOTO
—PHOTO
BY
ANI

LUCKNOW, MONDAY
DECEMBER 27, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
Breaking the shackles of
patriarchy, Sonali Yadav, hailing
from Alwar, is a proud model and
believes in the strength of hard-
work and passion!
onali Yadav was very
active since her
childhood and par-
ticipated in various
competitions in my
school and college
like dancing, singing
drawing. Her good height
and passion for fitness moti-
vated her to get into the field
of modelling.
Sonali recalls how it was
hard getting into the field of
modelling coming from a so-
ciety where girls aren’t al-
lowed to get basic education
and are married at a young
age. She belongs to a middle-
class joint family.
However, she was fascinated
by watching models on the
runway and it was something
even she aspired to do. Wear-
ing stylish and unique de-
signs and get a chance to
walk the ramp is a dream
come true for Yadav.
She won the title of Miss
Top Model India 2021 and
credits her mentor Pawan
Tank who supported her
throughout. Sonali says that
Sushmita Sen is her role mod-
el as she is a versatile model
and the attitude she car-
ries is something she ad-
mires.
When asked about
alternative career
goals, Yadav remarks
that if not a model,
she would like to be
in the field of agri-
culture.
Coming from a
financially weak
background and
working at a
young age,
b a c k w a r d
thinking of
her society
was a
huge chal-
lenge for
Sonali.
But, with
much vigour,
she broke the
shackles and
emerged victori-
ous.
Woman
of vigour POORVI SINGHAL
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
S

10
ETC
NIPAKSHI,
Actor
FACE
OF
THE
DAY!
Aries
MARCH 21 - APRIL 20
You will succeed in
putting your stagnant
love life back on the
track. Professionals will
be able to give their
best in a new situation. Financially, this
day may prove lucky for you, so go ask
for the raise that is keeping you on
tenterhooks. Don’t take any chances
with your health today.
Gemini
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A change of job is likely
to give you better perks.
This is the time when
you enjoy yourself with
a new group of friends
or colleagues. Those in business will
soon get a chance to make profits. A
new deal is likely to come through and
give you a taste of success. Spending
time with lover proves most fulfilling.
Leo
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Those looking for
buying a house can get
a good bargain.
Appreciation is in store
for some homemakers.
A professional victory is yours if you
play your cards well today. Those in
business will be able to maintain good
earning. Young lovers are likely to
enjoy total bliss.
Libra
SEPTEMBER 24 - OCTOBER 22
Your professionalism in
handling problem areas
will be appreciated. You
will find fulfilling family.
A senior is likely to put
in a good word for you to the higher
ups. Financially, you will be able to
consolidate your position. Exercise
care in matters of health. Lover may
become your pillar of strength.
Sagittarius
NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 22
Remaining on the good
side of those who
matter on the academic
front will help you
achieve much. Good
tidings of your well wishers will keep
you going on the professional front. A
family elder may look up to you for
guidance. Spending time with lover
proves most fulfilling.
Aquarius
JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 19
You may get busy
organising something
on the social front. You
may need to put your
ideas into action, if you
want to prove yourself. A party may be
thrown in your honour at work. Your
good performance is likely to be
noticed by higher ups. Health-wise a
good day is foreseen.
Taurus
APRIL 21 - MAY 20
On the social front, the
day finds you in your
element. Something
special awaits you on
the romantic front today.
Your strategy to promote yourself on
the professional front will bear fruits.
You may need to speed things on the
academic front to remain ahead. Your
love life will bring you immense joy.
Cancer
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Those in love with the
adventures are likely to
chase the excitement
very soon. Your own
happiness is in your
hands today. This is a favourable day
for completing pending jobs.
Financially, no problems are foreseen.
It is best to avoid outside food. Much
fun is in store on the social front.
Virgo
AUGUST 24 - SEPTEMBER 23
Some positive changes
can be expected on the
home front. This seems
a good day for job
seekers. New avenues
for earning open up as you get more
determined. Fitness through extra
efforts is assured. If you are in love,
chances of making an exciting plan
together is possible.
Scorpio
OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Buying new furniture or
a major appliance is
possible. With good
networking, a prized
posting can be yours .
Those trying to get back their money
will succeed. A healthy phase of life
begins for some. Your love life is likely
to give you immense joy, so make the
right moves.
Capricorn
DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 20
Your reputation is likely
to boost your image on
the social front. This is
an excellent day to
spend time with family.
Good planning will see you complete a
task at work in record time. Monetary
front grows strong for some. You
enjoy excellent health. Those seeking
love are likely to get lucky.
Pisces
FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20
Honours are likely to
greet you in something
that you have managed
to achieve. You will be a
pillar of strength to a
friend or associate. A good day at work
is foreseen as you make your mark in
front of those who matter. Financial
front remains stable. Health remains
fine.
YOUR DAY Horoscopeby
SaurabbhSachdeva
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the Power Corridors of Uttar Pradesh.
heneverwetalkabout
the professional
mournersalsoknown
as Rudali, who are
hired to weep profes-
sionally at the death
of a male relative in
royal families and later in the
Rajput Landlords’ families in
Sirohi, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jais-
almer and other border areas of
Rajasthan, we immediately
think about the famous Kalpana
Lajmi’s movie “Rudali”, pro-
duced in 1993, based on the nov-
el written by Mahasweta Devi.
Through its protagonist San-
ichari, Mahasweta Devi talks
about Rudalis who are always
dressed in black and have to sit
and cry, beating the ground and
their chests, screaming and cry-
ing. They have to continue
mourning the death for the next
12 days. It is believed that the
more dramatic and theatrical
the mourning is, the more it is
talked about amongst the soci-
ety
. However, due to an increase
in literacy, the Rudali tradition
is not as prevalent as it was
years ago. The people now pre-
fer quieter funerals, because of
which the Rudalis are now los-
ing their importance. They find
it hard to make ends meet by
practicing this profession now.
Some even say that Rudalis
don’t exist anymore. Their dis-
cussion in the film is more im-
aginative, less real.
Rudalis still do exist in vil-
lages like Revdar of Sirohi,
Shergarh Patodi of Jodhpur,
Chhittar ka paar, Kotda, Chuli,
and Fatehgarh of Barmer, Ram-
devra and Pokharan of Jaisalm-
er. However, their scope of work
has now narrowed to a great
extent. The reason behind this
is that the Rajput landlords
don’t have the same impact in
the society, as they used to have
before. And a few that are left,
do not give as much attention to
an economic status like earlier.
These Rudaalis not only belong
to the Ganju and Dusaad caste
but also come from Bhil and
other communities. In reality,
all the Rudaalis are widows.
They are still considered inaus-
picious and the society keeps an
eye on them as they do on a
woman, whose husband is no
more.
Most of the widow Rudalis
have bowed their heads to the
judgment of village-council
members and have accepted the
Naata tradition (the woman is
married in the same family to
her elder or younger brother in
law). Others are still entangled
in the vortex of life and keep liv-
ing with the social stigma of be-
ing a widow. Even though they
have accepted the weepers’ pro-
fession, it doesn’t earn them
bread every day. Death doesn’t
happen every day, then how can
they cry theatrically every day
.
When there’s no work, there’s
no money
. To make living, they
are also doing the work of wag-
es, farming, and animal hus-
bandry
. Rudaalis are even called
to do illegal activities like, cut-
ting down the restricted trees
like Khejri and Rohida in ex-
change for money. In some vil-
lages, the Rudalis have been in-
structed not to step out of the
house early in the morning, as
they are still considered un-
lucky and wretched.
The attire of Rudalis are de-
cided based on their age. For
instance a young widow has to
wear green color clothes where-
as if the widow is in her old age,
she has to wear dark red color
long blouse (kurti-kaanchli)
with same color border paired
with a skirt (dhaabla) and dark
red stole (chunar) that is en-
graved with black peacock
feathers. It is often said that Ru-
dalis always live outside the vil-
lage area but it is not the whole
truth. In reality, initially the
royal families owned large
amount of land outside the vil-
lage, where they could shelter
the Rudalis as they were consid-
ered inauspicious. But with
change in times, Rudalis live
outside as well as inside the vil-
lages. Their competence and
inefficiency contribute a lot to
this. For instance, the Rudalis
who are capable of doing farm-
ing and animal husbandry earn
a lot more than the only ones
dependent on the weeping pro-
fession.
As far as living outside the
village is concerned, in some
parts of Sirohi, Jodhpur, Bar-
mer, and Jaisalmer, they are
given shelter in the outskirts of
the village. Meaning, Rudalis’
first house starts from the end
of the villages’ last house. Their
houses are made of thatch and
mud. Their truth of life is quite
obvious from their pale-looking
houses. Even though they are
ostracized because they are ‘un-
touchables’, it does not spare
them from the dirty eyes of the
upper-caste men. They are ex-
tremely vulnerable to exploita-
tion from society. They can
never show what pains they are
going through and the society
couldn’t care less. But they can
be seen sitting in groups sing-
ing songs and expressing their
grief in the form of these songs.
They now want rights and
equality and not pity in the eyes
of society. They demand the
freedom to do something mean-
ingful, to live freely and to be
able to read and write, to choose
their life partner and of course
to be able to live on their terms
after losing their husband and
NOT to live by the imposed way
of the society
.
AMIT BAIJNATH GARG
Senior Journalist-Writer
RUDALI
RUDALI
The Sad Disappearance of
W

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